Environment

All posts tagged Environment

Positivity.. noun. ….’The quality or state of being positive’. “Something that is positive’

What does this word really mean to me and to you?….Well, I believe that waking up with a positive attitude is really important to our lives, positivity brings us to where we want to be, it connects us to our heart, it connects us to our divine self, to our true self and it takes us away from our negative self, our ego-self!

We believe that things or people make us unhappy, but this is not accurate. We make ourselves unhappy. Very little is needed to make our lives happy; we all already possess this skill, it’s all to do with our way of thinking.

Suffering and the onslaught of negativity and pain is brought on from our desires. Our desire to remain in the current state, to keep our youthful looks, our trim figure, our beautiful hair, our desire to gain wealth, desire to achieve greater control, greater power, more authority, our desire for sensual pleasures, for alcohol, drugs, food, money, and of course our desire to be happy….So we constantly strive to find this happiness everywhere, we seek it each and every day, we see people on the street, on the TV in the media who look happy in their big houses, their jobs, in their relationships..so we want the same, right?

I have learned that happiness starts within, it starts with our thoughts and our positivity helps is live happy contented lives, I know for sure that when my ego mind steps up, then my happiness and positivity levels drop through the floor. It eats away at you, controls you, and brings you down to its level, to where it wants you to be.

So, I have decided that ‘positivity’ is my new keyword, I have been through a lot, especially over these past few months. This has allowed my ego mind to play tricks on me, to put me in ‘The Victim’ mode, to make me feel sorry for myself, to allow me to have negative thoughts about all that I do, and all that happens to me. My negative emotions have taken control of my life…..and, ‘enough is enough’…I’m taking my life back,

……I’m taking my life back, I’m getting back in the saddle, taking up the reigns again for my life, I’m moving on, I’m holding my head high and ‘I’m happy 🙂

So, this morning when my dogs came in to wake me, I got up straight away, I greeted them with a smile as they wagged their tails and gave me their usual dose of unconditional love, I gave thanks in prayer to The Buddha, to the Ascended Masters, to My Parents, to my family and friends, and I vowed to continue my journey of self-discovery with a new vigour, with a bounce in my step, and with new love in my heart, a new love for me, for the person I am and for the person I will be.

One of my dear blogging friends Saymber said to me a few days ago, and I quote “.it’s important to stay grounded in these things. I would suggest a nice bit of time outside without shoes and socks and maybe some of your favorite music”. I replied that its not so easy living in a concrete jungle with 28,000,000 (that’s 28 million) other souls, but I agreed with her that what she was saying was so true and i really needed to get myself grounded, take my shoes and socks off and re-connect with Mother Earth, so today, I did it 🙂 And I feel fantastic 🙂 I took a walk to my closest Buddhist temple for some we deserved meditation and prayers and on the way back I spent some quality time reconnecting, standing amongst the trees, observing the gentle breeze in the leaves, listening to the birds and totally clearing my mind.

Mother nature is so beautiful and she will share her beauty with you whenever you need it, she can be found on the corner of a busy street, under a shady tree set in the concrete walkway, or even in a simple window box of flowers, all we need to do is ‘Open our Eyes’ 🙂

Blessings Saymber, and thank you Mother Earth for bringing me home today,

I came across this wonderful picture today taken from the Hubble Telescope and after looking at it for a few minutes, It looks like the world is being held in the loving embrace of an Angels wings, which then got me thinking just how delicate our world is and how we need to do something to protect it.

I have written about our environment many times, however, like many who write on environmental issues; most readers think it will be all sorted out for them, someone else will make the effort to stand up and be counted, someone else will go out and clean up their local area, someone else will go on a march re climate change or pollution to our environment.

So many people look at the news and see the devastation that is happening to our environment all around the world, oil spills, water pollution, fracking, toxic waste dumping, but very few people will actually do anything unless it happens on their doorstep, and I mean on their doorstep, most people won’t even do anything if it happens in their country, their county, or their city…. so unless it’s on their doorstep; they just turn a blind eye and say, ‘ it’s not my problem’!

However, it is our problem because to use the following example, the terrible radiation leak from the Tsunami hit Nuclear plant in Japan is now polluting the oceans of our world, millions of fish, Whales, Dolphins and sea creatures in the Pacific Ocean are dying because of this natural disaster! So, will you do anything if all of a sudden you cannot eat any fish from the ocean? or You cannot go into the ocean for a swim when you are on holiday in the Philippines, Thailand, Indian Ocean, Australasia, West Coast of America, Hawaii, Chile, Argentina, Mexico etc?

I wish we could lift our heads, take notice and take ownership; because we are ‘ALL’ part of the problem (as consumers) and we are all capable of doing something about it, we can stop buying goods that pollute our environment, we can stop using plastic bags, buying plastic bottles of juice, water etc, we can source from more environmentally friendly companies, we can join a local clean up group, we can sign a petition to save our planet, there is so much we can do to make change happen, but as long as we say ‘It’s not my problem’ then we will NEVER make CHANGE HAPPEN!

We live on a beautiful planet, that looks after us each and every day, now my dear friends, it’s our turn to do the looking after….

Isn’t that the truth?…Is poverty, famine, greed, war, disease, injustice in our world only God’s problem?

Should we wait for him/her to deal with it for us, or, should we stand up and be counted?…..Actually get up off our butt’s and do something about the problems in our world!

We are after all, guardians of this planet, guardians for our future, for the future of our children. We all have an obligation to take ownership of what goes on in our world, we are all part of humanity, we are all part of the problem and the possible solution….We are stronger than we think, we can do something about these problems and issues, we can make change, we can stop greed, we can stop injustice, we can stop starvation, we can ALL make a difference and change the future….

We are but a grain of sand amongst billions of other grains of sand, but we are all ‘One’, we all come from the same seed of creation and we owe it to ourselves, to our brothers and sisters of humanity, we owe it to our ancestors, we owe it to our children, we owe it to our grandchildren, we owe it to OURSELVES!

Today is the day for you to sit up, look in the mirror and say “I am part of the problem and, I am part of the solution’ and ‘I can make a difference to this world, our world’..

Go on my friends, do a pledge to yourself, stand up and be counted and be a part of the change you want to see in this ‘Our’ world 🙂 Then go out and actually do something! Join a peace group, help out in a homeless shelter, sign a petition, stop using a product or buying food, drink or fuel from the companies that are polluting our planet, poisoning our children, draining our natural water systems, taking advantage of low wages and not paying their taxes. Stand up for yourself, for your family, for your future 🙂

Just when we think our life is settled, some curve ball comes our way!…..Our life is turned upside downI Change my friends is inevitable , our lives are constantly in flow, this way, that way, ever changing and we ourselves never stay still, especially our minds, worrying about this, worrying about that, planning this, arranging that, floating off after the next thought process that comes into our minds and as were following that though another thought pops up and we follow that too, and on and on it goes, our busy minds controlling our lives….But, do we have to be slaves to our mind, can we draw the line in the sand and say to our mind ‘No More’, I don’t want to follow you anymore, I want freedom of mind, I want peace in my life?

Well, we could all pack up our things now and go off and become Buddhist Monks or Nuns, we could go off to the mountains of India, Thailand or Tibet, we could seek out a Guru to follow, we could give up all our worldly possessions and meditate for years on end…. But!…, will that satisfy our mind and bring us a more peaceful and contented life?…For some, yes,… It is a noble path to follow and certainly one I greatly respect and often wish for myself…But, I also live in the realities of life and I honour who I am, where I am and what is important for me. I, like most of you have family, friends, colleagues, work, commitments etc, I, like many others also dream of that better life, a more fulfilling spiritual life in which I can help those less fortunate than I.

So, where is my life taking me?….

Well, It’s taking me where I need to be each day, and I need to come to terms with that very fact, I am where I am because how and what I think, I’m here right now writing this post because this is where I need to be and this is what I should be doing right now…Fact!

I work with people Spiritually and through Psychology each and everyday, I and those who know me know what sort of man I am, I give my all, I give my love, I give my compassion out to humanity everyday and I’m certainly grateful for all the love I have in my life, for all the abundance in my life, for all the support I have in my life and I always give thanks for all that I am in each and every moment, so…..

My life is what I make of it, it will flow in the direction I take it,….

I choose to live a life of Love, Compassion and Support for the betterment of humanity, mother earth and our environment 🙂

I often speak about ‘Oneness’, ‘Togetherness’, ‘One Humanity’ and how the realisation that we ‘are’ all connected, will eventually effect our ego minds and help us move forward to make our world a better place to live. ‘Oneness’, is the way forward and although we cannot make everyone understand; and want this, but we can still make a difference, “One seed at a time, one person at a time, one community at a time until this planet is embraced in a circle of resurgent life and resurgent love.”

I used to get so down when I watched the news on TV, read the newspapers or listened to the radio, ‘Wars raging, starvation, homeless, drugs, human trafficking, global warming, pollution of our environment, race hatred, religious hatred, corporate and political corruption and their need for global power and control’, but, now I realise that our world is changing, we ‘are’ starting to sit up, to notice and to awaken to these things, we are now starting to come together towards the ‘Oneness’ that is needed for our collective futures on this planet, we are starting to see the light and realise that ‘together’ we can make a difference, we can help someone in need and in turn they will help someone else in need, we can share the love, we can be grateful for what we have in our lives, we can love ‘ourselves’ and we can love ‘Humanity’.

Today my friends, I share my love with you, unconditional love from my heart, may your day be filled with the light of your God, may your heart be filled with love, happiness and compassion and if my words resonate with you, please hold our your hand to others and share this love.

How do our children learn to hate, become racist, judgemental or prejudiced?

We all come into this world innocent, we don’t harbour any belief systems, we don’t hold any hate in our hearts, we see every other human being as the same as us, we make friends easily irrespective of social, religious or ethnic differences and we love each other unconditionally…..

…….So what goes wrong, how do we learn these behavioural and emotional traits?

As parents, grandparents and siblings, it is our duty to help our children to grow, to learn and to evolve, to help them achieve the best life they can and live their lives in peace with love and compassion in their hearts, this is our duty…..

Is it yours?……….

Be a part of your child’s life, show them the right ways in life, allow them to meet with and integrate with other children from other religious backgrounds, countries and cultures, take them out and show them the wonders of mother nature, let them feel the warm sun on their skin, the rain on their face and the grass beneath their feet, teach them to respect nature and all it glory, teach them to love animals as equals and to foster if you can.

Our planet is under great threat, humanity, and our natural resources are under great threat, these threats including global warming, famine, severe water shortages and wars between countries, religions and ethnic races are just a part of these threats, animals are becoming extinct, wiped out from the face of this earth due to greed and we,…and our children can turn it around….

We can make a difference,

We can bring back love, compassion and a true sense of brotherhood for mankind…… for the benefit of us all!

I urge you all to please watch this powerful short video and if you are like me it will leave you in tears and it will touch your heart, and I hope also urge you to stand up, break away from your tv and actually start doing something to help save our environment, this message is for YOU, You, yes YOU….Please share this with your friends, your social networks, and anyone who you care about….Please, please help me to help get this message out.

Well, the weekend is here again and I’m a little stuck for words, my mind is blank and I’m having difficulty thinking of ideas for inspirational posts! I guess it’s the old ‘writers block’, maybe my meditations are taking me to the point of total relaxation where absolutely nothing seems to pass through my mind…. or, maybe I just don’t have anything much to say!

This feeling of empty-ness worries me, I feel I owe you a post and when I cannot think of a subject to write about I do start to worry and I become a little anxious!…will I loose followers?, what will my friends think when I don’t post for a day?… and the anxiety becomes even worse if I don’t post for more than one day…

But then I relax and let my fingers do the walking, I introduced them to the keyboard and like magic they began to type, nothing in this post so far anyway has come from my mind, my fingers have just flowed around the keyboard doing a magical dance on the keys and this is what you’re reading right now…I have no idea of the theme, I have no idea what the title of this post will be and where the post will end up…I guess its just a few rambling words to you all, my blogging friends, friends from all around the world, friends of different races, religions, gender and age..but friends you are and I would miss not having you all in my life, you give me strength, you give me pleasure and sometimes I get to feel a sense of happiness when I hear that I have managed to help one of you get through a difficult time in your life.

For me blogging is not about finding followers, it’s not really about spirituality (although spirituality and my spiritual journey are very important to me), faith or religion…In my case its just the words and feelings from me, nothing special, just my thoughts on any given day, on any subject that I feel will bring you some joy, a post that may help you overcome a fear, guide you to a solution to a problem or maybe a video or music post that will bring a smile to your face.

Now, while I’m writing this post I too feel a sense of joy, because the words flowing from my finger tips are saying what is inside my heart, no thought has gone into these words and no pattern has been put together of the structure or the outcome, but the words are as I said from my heart, and to me that’s a great thing because I honestly believe that if we; as humans used our hearts to their full capacity of loving kindness each and every day, we would live in a world filled with love and peace…I know I cannot bring about world peace on my own through this humble blog but I do know that I can bring about change, I can make you smile, I can bring joy and a little happiness to your life even if only for the briefest moment in time, but time is the essence, time has no meaning so that smile that you have on your face right now is a blessing from God and hopefully brought to you from the words or pictures that I send you 🙂

So in essence I guess this post is about happiness, it is about loving kindness, it is about bringing about change in our lives, it is about helping others, it is about my own spiritual journey, it is about living life in the now, it is about caring, it is about humanity, it is about giving…….

Some days I sit and cry a little, I care passionately about our world, I care passionately about humanity, I care passionately about the environment and I wonder what more I can do to help those in need! Those tears then lead to meditation when I connect to my heart and I realise I can do more, do something simple, bring a smile to someones face, give thanks for what I have in my life and I feel good again, this feeling then brings about action…actions can be simple, they can be small and they can cost you nothing… but these actions will and do make a difference to someone or something in our world…so when ever you feel down…just stop…meditate, connect with your heart, give thanks for your life and give thanks for all you have in your life…this will lead you to open your eyes with a fresh view which will bring about change and you will do good, you will help someone, you will share a smile..and on and on the circle of loving kindness will go…

Go on, you know you want one…Reach out, close your eyes and feel the warmth of my hug, my arms around you, comforting you. It comes to you with my love and best wishes for a wonderful day filled with happiness, joy and peace wherever you are in this world 🙂

Our lives are so full of madness…time, the clock, rushing here, rushing there, eating while watching tv, reading the news, checking and responding to emails….working, parenting, relationships,’…their up’s and down’s…children and our fear for their future, challenges at work, career prospects, learning, financial difficulties….Is it all doom and gloom?….Only if you let it be!

I too have been a victim of all these things, my life has been filled with education, doing better, achieving more, working hard, working harder, working more hours, doing more of everything, wanting more of everything, buying for the sake of buying, mounting debt problems, children, the worries of being a parent, relationship challenges, divorce, grieving for the loss of loved ones, changing careers, re-educating myself, starting again, fighting to survive, living on the breadline, finding new love, emerging from the flames, being born again, awakening to the realities of life, becoming aware of what is important in life, caring from the heart, wanting to see change in our world, fighting for change, being frustrated that I cannot do enough, or make change happen overnight…an on; and on the cycle goes….So now what?…Where am I and what does the future hold?

Should I give up, should I buckle down and follow the pack, work every hour god sends, chase the dreams of others, or follow my heart, live in the ‘now’, do as ‘I’; my soul, my higher self wants?….

A dilemma felt by many….., choices…which way to go?…

The choice is yours, either be controlled or be in control….

I choose life, I choose to live in the now, to work in ‘Mindfulness’ of the other sometimes more important things in my life, for my family, for our future, for humanity, for our environment, for Mother Earth, for others less fortunate than I, I choose to serve for the betterment of my self, for my soul. My heart is now free, free to choose which way to go, I listen to my heart, I trust my intuition, I listen with Empathy to others with the intent to understand, and I place my feet firmly down on my own spiritual pathway, the journey which leads me through life with a smile; not a burden of weight placed upon my shoulders by others who want to control my destiny.

Be ‘Mindful’ my dear friends, live your life according to your own destiny, allow yourself the luxury right to enjoy your life to the full, take time out for yourself, connect with your heart and soul through meditation, free your mind from the distractions of modern life, see life as it really is and start enjoying each and every day to the full, see the blueness of the sky or if your sky is grey; see the blueness of the sky up above the clouds, watch the sun rise and set, see the smiles of the children around you , reconnect with your inner child, smile, always smile and breathe….just breathe 🙂

Pollution, is on my skin
Pollution, it’s in my veins
Pollution, is in my chest
Pollution, is in my stomach
Pollution is in my cells
Pollution is here to stay

I remember when I was a young boy, the feeling of pain, the endless coughing, wheezing, fighting for breath, the cold and damp of the winters mornings made things worse, a cough plus a cold was a nightmare. The summers brought along the pollen, the freshly mown grass and the sleepless nights with swollen eyes, runny nose, tightness of breath, wheezing, coughing and itching of eyes and more pain.

That was back in the 1960’s. Industrial prowess was still strong in the UK back then, factories churning out goods and billowing smoke from coal fired furnaces that drove the internal engines of industry, our houses used coal so smoke was heavy in the air, pollution hung over all industrial cities in the UK, children like me suffered from Asthma, no one said why but now we know, it was brought on by pollution and no one was blamed or paid the price for our pain and suffering, many children died in the early years, their frail bodies could not take the toll of the heavy smoke.

So here I am again now in my early 50’s, my home is now China and I’m going through the same thing that I did when I was a young boy, the pollution is heavy, the so called safe PM Index should be below 0-50 but most days it exceeds 150, today the reading is 154 stating Health Advisory: People with heart or lung disease, older adults, and children should avoid prolonged or heavy exertion, everyone else should reduce prolonged or heavy exertion. In late October 2013 the PM2.5 level registered an astonishing 1,000 in the city of Harbin. This is 40 times what the World Health Organization (WHO) deems safe for humans to breathe. In January 2013, during Beijing’s now infamous “airpocalypse,” scores between 500 and 900 were routine. In the last couple of months, Shanghai has experienced its worst air pollution on record, hitting 600. If we consider that a PM2.5 reading of 500 is the upper limit of the Air Quality Index (AQI) scale, anything beyond 500, or “beyond index” as the Chinese call it, is just plain scary.

What are the short-term and long-term health implications for the people of China?
China’s air is full of pollutants emitted by power plants, heavy industry, building construction, and cars. Breathing in that air, especially what is called particulate matter, poses a serious health threat to human beings. Particulate matter is a term for solid particles and liquid droplets—dust, dirt, smoke, organic chemicals, metals, and so on—suspended in the air. This matter comes in two sizes: particles smaller than 10 micrometers in diameter (PM10) and particles smaller than 2.5 micrometers. When we inhale, these particles enter into our respiratory system and can travel into our lungs and even our bloodstream. PM2.5 is the more harmful of the two: at a miniscule 2.5 micrometers, these tiny particles, which are less than 1/30 the width of a human hair, can make their way deep into our lungs and lodge there. In the past twenty years, scientific studies have shown that PM10 and PM2.5 are linked to a range of health issues, including shortness of breath, asthma attacks, acute bronchitis, decreased lung function, lung cancer, heart attacks, and premature death.
Consider this: a 2012 study by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention measured the air quality in a typical smoking lounge in a U.S. airport and found the average PM2.5 reading to be 166.6 micrograms per cubic meter. A few months later, in January 2013, the month of the airpocalypse, the daily average PM2.5 reading in Beijing was 194 micrograms per cubic meter. The air Beijingers breathed was 16% worse than the air in a U.S. airport smoking lounge. Imagine breathing in that thick, acrid-tasting mix over the course of a lifetime. Keep in mind, too, that going into a smoking lounge is entirely up to you; breathing the air in Beijing, Harbin, or Shanghai, if you live there, or happen to be visiting, is not.
Two major scientific studies released in the past year leave little doubt as to the havoc that China’s polluted air has wreaked on the health of the Chinese people. A team from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and Tsinghua and Hebrew Universities demonstrated that during 1981–2001 the average level of particulate matter in north China was 55% higher than in South China because of the North’s greater dependence on coal for winter heating. This burden of pollution had a stunning effect on life expectancy: the 500 million people in north China lived on average 5.5 fewer years than the residents of south China, owing almost entirely to the higher incidence of cardiorespiratory illness.
The findings of the second study were equally dramatic. The Global Burden of Disease Study 2010 concluded that particulate matter in outdoor air pollution in China contributed to 1.2 million premature deaths in 2010 alone. The study also found that there has been a rise in cardiovascular diseases in China—ischemic heart disease, strokes, and pulmonary disease—all conditions that recent research has shown to be affected by exposure to polluted air. Clearly, China’s air is doing substantial damage to the health of people who breathe it.

What are the economic implications?
The economic costs of air pollution are immense. A number of studies have attempted to calculate the cost of China’s air pollution as a percentage of the country’s GDP, but the figures they arrive at range widely—I’ve seen 2.5% to 10%—depending to a large degree on what metric researchers use and whether they take into account both short-term and long-term health outcomes. Some studies also factor in “material” or “non-health impacts” in addition to “health impacts.”
Polluted air significantly raises morbidity and mortality rates, as the MIT and the Global Burden of Disease studies indicate. These higher rates, in turn, translate into higher medical costs and an increase in missed working days (i.e., lower productivity). Additionally, polluted air results in resource depletion: soil acidification from acid rain reduces the amount of China’s arable land, lowering crop productivity; mercury emitted by coal combustion enters the water systems, contaminating water and affecting fish, rice, vegetables, and fruits; and airborne pollutants kill off trees and forests. Polluted air also takes aim at building structures, hastening their deterioration. Indeed, many worry about the effect that airborne chemicals will have on the country’s precious historical monuments. There are indirect economic effects of the sooty air to consider as well. For instance, as Shanghai revs up efforts to attract foreign businesses to the new Shanghai Free Trade Zone, there is worry that China’s, and now Shanghai’s, reputation for unhealthy air may be a deterrent. Then there’s tourism. Foreign visitors to China were down in 2013 by 5% in the country as a whole and by a full 10.3% in Beijing. Media-drenched events like the January 2013 airpocalypse have likely played a sizable role here.
Is this a China problem?……In my Opinion NO!…This is a world problem, if China was not carrying out the manufacturing for the world allowing us to buy products at the prices we need then the manufacturing would move to another country, maybe even back to your country bringing with it the pollution and the illnesses that China now bares!
We as a global humanity need to bring awareness to the suffering that takes place around the world, we should not just stand there in awe and point the finger at China and say ‘Look at that pollution, its disgusting, they should do something about it!’ Then get on with our day, go out shopping to Wal-Mart and buy lots of cheep (sorry low priced) goods that come from countries like China where the people are suffering from the pollution left behind from the corporate greed of the global companies whose profits are up year on year….But when they get rumbled, they just move on and set up shop in another country that needs their business to fuel their growing economy!
Many of you may say, ‘Why am I still here’, well my answer is, someone needs to be here to help raise awareness, both internal and external awareness, I dearly love China, it is a great country steeped in rich cultural history, a country that has brought our world so many wonderful inventions including the compass, gunpowder, tableware and pottery, alcoholic beverage (fermentation), paper, printing etc., If you would like to learn more about Chinese inventions please take a look here http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Chinese_inventions

If we can come together as one humanity and start taking back some control from the corporates and actively work together as one for the benefit of humanity and not just for the benefit of the few corporate shareholders, then we will stand a chance of turning the tables on pollution, we do collectively have the ability to put things right for the benefit of all.
Namaste with Love
Always
Mark

I have noticed my lack of enthusiasm and procrastination regarding writing posts of late, I guess it is down to the fact that my number of followers does not seem to grow so much when I see some blogs or twitter accounts gaining thousands, tens of thousands or hundreds of thousand of followers. The numbers of likes and retweets are huge and they gain lots of opportunity to promote themselves, their thoughts and their businesses easily but when I look at these sites and accounts I am so surprised as to the content, many seem to have nothing at all to offer, they lack in content, don’t offer any help or support to their followers and they are often very rude and in some cases obscene in their content. Now don’t get me wrong, I’m not in this for fame or glory and my blog is about giving back, trying to help people who are maybe in need for some words and pictures that will help them in their time of need, offer some inspiration and a helping hand when they feel down or anxious.

So, what is it we need to do to make our sites more ‘Sexy’, to help us get our messages of good across to a wider audience, to actually start to do more good around the world, to bring about more attention to the state of our environment, to help fight disease, help the poor, bring an end to victimisation, child abuse, honor killings, bullying at school, the horrors of GMO, the poisoning of our oceans, global warming and not to forget help bring more awareness towards the real need to have peace on earth?

Maybe I need to go on a serious diet, to get down at the gym 7 days a week and build up my abs, some plastic surgery here and there is, a hair weave perhaps or is it that I really need to think about and position my messages in a very different way?

When I look at our world I get a tear in my eye, when i see the news and hear of abuse of our children, watch wars raging for the sake of greed or religion, see families loosing their homes because of the lack of jobs I wonder where is our world heading, what more can I do to help!…Many would say I think too much, I cannot heal everyone and everything…but for me, it’s hard, it’s really hard to switch off my compassion radar, I’m too deep in to do that now, I watch tv with my wife and I tear up when I see pollution, my heart takes a stabbing when i see brothers and sisters of humanity fighting and when I see the continuance of corporate greed and the manipulation of humanity by the media….I must do something, I must act, I must do my bit to help save our world from imploding from our own greed and lust for more, more money, more land, more things, more, more, more.

So, I’m open to offers, open to suggestion, what do I/We need to do to help promote compassion, love, peace and happiness to humanity, how do we help make a difference?

BTW, If you answers are…Plastic Surgery, Extensive Diet, Gym 7 days a week, a New Fancy Set Of Teeth etc, please consider sending me a large value cheque or bank transfer because otherwise, it, ain’t gonna happen 🙂

If we are to start making any headway towards changing our world for the better, to bring about peace, to eradicate disease and to bring about an end to poverty and starvation for millions of our brothers and sisters around the world, we will need to bring out the ‘Big Guns’

We need to start listening to each other, start to understand the other side of the story, give our compassion to others irrespective of their colour, religion or social status, forgive and forget what has gone on in the past and forge forward together as one humanity in the search of peace and in love of each other toward a common goal of life and environmental sustainability of our crops and waters and the protection of our planet, we need to build up our patience and understanding of other cultures and ways of life and most of all we need to be truthful and honest with each other.

Walk outside on a summer’s day
Sit yourself down and relax
Feel the warmth of the sun on your face
The gentle breeze in the air
Close your eyes and breathe deep breaths
In through your nose, out through your nose

Concentrate you attention and awareness of your breath
In, Out…In, Out
Notice the fragrances of life in your breath
The sweetness of nectar in the air
Freshly mown grass, bringing new life
The sap on the trees from the lungs of our world
The musky, fruity scent of roses in bloom
Mint, Rosemary, Thyme and Lavender too

Evoke your senses and develop your skills
Concentrate your awareness
Breathe deeply, In, Out….In, Out
The scent evokes and awakens your taste
Maybe the taste of tea from a tea rose
The sweetness of pear, apples or fig
The citrus of oranges or lemon

Life and your senses are a wonderful thing and in your control
Invoke your senses
Enjoy nature, enjoy life

Namaste with Love
Always
Mark

“Connection with gardens, even small ones, even potted plants, can become windows to the inner life. The simple act of stopping and looking at the beauty around us can be prayer.”
– Patricia R. Barrett, The Sacred Garden

“The first act of awe, when man was struck with the beauty or wonder of Nature, was the first spiritual experience.”
– Henryk Skolimowski

“Even before I could speak, I remember crawling through blueberry patches in the wild meadows on our hillsides. I quickly discovered Nature was filled with Spirit; I never saw any separation between Spirit and Nature. Much later I discovered our culture taught there was supposed to be some kind of separation – that God, Spirit and Nature were supposed to be divided and different. However, at my early age it seemed absolutely obvious that the church of the Earth was the greatest church of all; that the temple of the forest was the supreme temple. When I went to the sanctuary of the mountain, I found Earth’s natural altar – Great Spirit’s real shrine. Years later I discovered that this path of going into Nature, bonding deeply with it, and seeing Spirit within Nature – God, Goddess, and Great Spirit – was humanity’s most ancient, most primordial path of spiritual cultivation and realization.”
– John P. Milton, Sky Above, Earth Below

“In all things of nature there is something marvellous.”
– Aristotle

“In the assemblies of the enlightened ones there have been many cases of mastering the Way bringing forth the heart of plants and trees; this is what awakening the mind for enlightenment is like. The fifth patriarch of Zen was once a pine-planting wayfarer; Rinzai worked on planting cedars and pines on Mount Obaku. … Working with plants, trees, fences and walls, if they practice sincerely they will attain enlightenment.”
– Dogen Zenji, Japanese Zen Buddhist Grand Master , Awakening the Unsurpassed Mind, #31

Scent is the most potent and bewitching substance in the
gardener’s repertory and yet it is the most neglected and
least understood. The faintest waft is sometimes enough
to induce feelings of hunger or anticipation, or to transport
you back through time and space to a long-forgotten moment
in your childhood. It can overwhelm you in an instant or simply
tease you, creeping into your consciousness slowly and
evaporating almost the moment it is detected. Each fragrance,
whether sweet or spicy, light or heavy, comes upon you
in its own way and evokes its own emotional response.
– Stephen Lacey, Scent in Your Garden, 1991

To be overcome by the fragrance of flowers
is a delectable form of defeat.
– Beverly Nichols

I go to nature to be soothed and healed,
and to have my senses put in order.
– John Burroughs

My lilac trees are old and tall;
I cannot reach their bloom at all.
They send their perfume over trees
And roof and streets, to find the bees.
– Lousie Driscoll, 1875 – 1957, My Garden Is a Pleasant Place

When you love what you already have in your life, you realise you actually have all that you need!

Most of us go out and buy for the sake of buying, for that tiny rush of excitement and happiness when we see something nice and just have to have it whatever the cost! We often forge on with our lives looking for more, more clothes, more jewelry, a new hairdo or makeover, more success, more happiness, a bigger and better job, a bigger house, new car, another holiday, a slimmer self etc.

Sometimes when I just sit here and meditate I look at the all the things I have around me and realise that I do have enough, I don’t need anything else in my life, I’m happy, I have a loving wife, beautiful children, good health, a good job, a roof over my head, enough clothes to last me forever, food on my table, my spiritual awareness and happiness! So what more could I want?

I guess I could say world peace, the end of poverty and starvation, a clean environment, the end of disease, education for all, equal rights for all, happiness amongst all races and religions etc, but One day at a time, One day at a time 🙂

I went to my local Buddhist temple today and sat in quite contemplation and meditated for an hour on my own gratitude and I feel so happy now 🙂

May you all be blessed with a day like mine 🙂 Happiness, peace and love to you all.

Lao Tzu was a philosopher and poet of ancient China. He is best known as the reputed author of the Tao Te Ching and the founder of philosophical Taoism, but he is also revered as a deity in religious Taoism and traditional Chinese religions. Although a legendary figure, he is usually dated to around the 6th century BC and reckoned a contemporary of Confucius, but some historians contend that he actually lived during the Warring States period of the 5th or 4th century BC. A central figure in Chinese culture, Lao Tzu is claimed by both the emperors of the Tang dynasty and modern common folk of the Li family as a founder of their lineage. Throughout history, Lao Tzu’s work has been embraced by various anti-authoritarian movements.

Lao Tsu taught that all straining, all striving are not only vain but counterproductive. One should endeavor to do nothing (wu-wei). But what does this mean? It means not to literally do nothing, but to discern and follow the natural forces — to follow and shape the flow of events and not to pit oneself against the natural order of things. First and foremost to be spontaneous in ones actions.

In this sense the Taoist doctrine of wu-wei can be understood as a way of mastering circumstances by understanding their nature or principal, and then shaping ones actions in accordance with these. This understanding has also infused the approach to movement as it is developed in Tai Chi Chuan.

Understanding this, Taoist philosophy followed a very interesting circle. On the one hand the Taoists, rejected the Confucian attempts to regulate life and society and counseled instead to turn away from it to a solitary contemplation of nature. On the other hand they believed that by doing so one could ultimately harness the powers of the universe. By ‘doing nothing’ one could ‘accomplish everything.’

Lao Tzu writes:

The Tao abides in non-action,
Yet nothing is left undone.
If kings and lords observed this,
The ten thousand things would develop naturally.
If they still desired to act,
They would return to the simplicity of formless substance.
Without form there is no desire.
Without desire there is tranquillity.
In this way all things would be at peace.
In this way Taoist philosophy reached out to council rulers and advise them of how to govern their domains. Thus Taoism, in a peculiar and roundabout way, became a political philosophy. The formulation follows these lines:
The Taoist sage has no ambitions, therefore he can never fail. He who never fails always succeeds. And he who always succeeds is all- powerful.
From a solitary contemplation of nature, far removed from the affairs of men, can emerge a philosophy that has, both in a critical as well a constructive sense — a direct and practical political message. Lao Tzu writes:

Why are people starving?
Because the rulers eat up the money in taxes.
Therefore the people are starving.
Why are the people rebellious?
Because the rulers interfere too much.
Therefore they are rebellious.

Why do people think so little of death?
Because the rulers demand too much of life.
Therefore the people take life lightly.

Some days, I’m not so sure!
I wake up and start my day, I amble out of bed
Feeling tired, lethargic and grumpy
More sleep needed maybe, more time to rest, to lie dormant and be; just me!

A pick me up coffee to raise my spirits, its heady smell and strong taste slapping me awake like a hand to my face
Or does it help suppress my mind, control my senses and take away my creativity
Breakfast…Oh no, that’s for wimps, no time for that in my busy life
Off to the bathroom for me instead, the slow walk to that place of awakening

The mirror lies before me, standing proud and tall the size of my wall, no place to hide
I’m naked for my eyes to see, Ohh a sight for sore eyes and not for the faint at heart
Too much fat hiding my chin, my eyes are red and sleepy, lids wanting to close and sleep once again
Plenty of excess around my middle, my arms my hips, my rear, it appeared overnight, I think!

Is my hair receding even further, is that a spot on my face
I’m no teenager, where have they come from, maybe a memory of day’s gone bye
What’s that hair doing coming from my ears and nose, should it not be on my head
It wasn’t there yesterday, my body it would seem to be out of control

A clean shave is what I need and into the shower I go
The fresh warm water cascading down upon my head
Awakening my body and my soul
Water cleansing, washing away my negativity, bringing life back to my body like rain to a seed

The towel meets my skin, rough and soft all at the same time
The water disappearing into the fabric, leaving my skin soft and dry
A splash of aftershave hits my jaw, awakens my senses to the sweet smell of summer
Stepping into my trousers, and a fresh shirt completes my attire

Looking into the mirror a new man, a new day, a new opportunity
I love my self again, I’m happy in my skin, I’m proud of what I have achieved
I’m off to start a fresh day, out into our wonderful world, more people to help, more spirits to lift
Opening the door, the sun greets my face it awakens me to mother nature, warm and gentle welcoming me once again

Stepping down my steps I feel my breath, catching the fresh morning air
Feet touching the ground with a steady momentum, taking me on to more challenges in life
I hear the sounds of our world, the noise of the city, millions moving towards their day, but if I listen carefully there is so much more to hear

The quietness of nature, birds in song, the soft rustling of leaves as the gentle breeze passes through the trees
Mothers walking their children to school, grandparents exercising in the gardens their slow Tai Chi movements, bringing life to their aging bones
Ladies dancing under the trees, awakening their limbs and bringing smiles of joy to their faces

I am indeed grateful for all I have in my life
I have a gift, the gift of sight, the gift of sound, the gift of smell, and the gift of touch
The ability to realize all that is around me, the gift is LIFE itself
So easy to forget in our crazy non stop world, so easy to loose sight of what we have, So easy to fall into the hands of the media and follow their never ending tales of doom and gloom

I do love my life; I do love my world
I’m thankful and grateful for another day to share this gift with you